


Hymn of Rose Quartz

by ApocalypsePending



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: No Smut, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:06:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27421675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApocalypsePending/pseuds/ApocalypsePending
Summary: The battle with the Cluster is over. Homeworld takes advantage of the situation to kidnap Steven. It's up to Connie and what remains of the Crystal Gems to pick up the pieces and save Steven, or what's left of him.
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	1. 2015 Version

**Author's Note:**

> Note: This was written originally in November 2015. It is being edited in the present day and the language updated. If enough people want this to continue I will write on. Chapters may not be full "chapters" and will between 200-1000 Words if continued.
> 
> Edit (1/5/2021): I've decided to use this fic to decompress from my other writing. I've made a few edits and added some length to the initial chapter. I might need to update the formatting because I still don't like the way it looks. I apologize if there was a spam of notifications in the past 20 minutes. The first expanded Chapter "Sleep" is up now!

_ When I was a little child, _

_ and dwelling in my kingdom, _

_ in my father's house, and was content with the wealth and the _

_ luxuries of my nourishers, _

_ from the East, our home, _

_ my parents equipped me (and) sent me forth; _

_ \- Entry Lines to Hymn of the Pearl _

“I can still feel it there.” Connie said.

She wiggled the fingers of the limb enhancer, watching them float at her command to a tiny dance. 

“I still find it strange that you humans don’t just regenerate, it seems like a flaw in your initial design.” Peridot commented as she tuned the forearm with a screwdriver labeled ‘A’, except the label had been crossed out with a large X in permanent marker. 

Connie moved her hand once again, before bringing the nomadic digits together in a tight ball. She could feel the stone writhing against itself, except the sensation felt a thousand miles away, while the feeling of her sword arm being torn from her body was all too close.

“We should get going, people are going to be returning soon and we need to clean up.” Connie said.

“Lapis and Garnet should be adequate enough to handle such a menial task, and your species is frail it requires rest o-“

Peridots words were cut off by the scraping of metal along wood. Piece’s of Rose’s sword scattered about the kitchen table as Connie lifted it by the hilt. Less than half its original length with a sickly-jagged edge on the reverse side.

“I’m fine. Let’s go.” 

And without another word Connie fastened a long pink cloak around her shoulders. When it was secured the length augmented to fit her size, wrapping around her like a protective shield. The luscious hood laid slack along her back, the slightly lighter hue of the mane stood in stark contrast to the rest of the coat. A small hole through the center of the cloak let air through as he brought itself closer around her. She could feel the gemstones that made her fingertips vibrate against the cloak, that same kind of scratching of stone against stone could be felt in her core.

She then made sure the shattered blade was secure in the sheath before walking out of the Sanctuary’s door.

—

Large indents in the sand still marked where chunks of the Cluster fell. Connie walked through the empty streets and expected the remaining shards to animate, but they remained lifeless. Jutting out of cars and skewering rooftops. The limb-enhancer gave her the ability to bubble gems which she did, picking up the stray smaller fragments that lined the street. Most of them had been cleaned up but there were still pieces. Empty space where the fragmented gems once laid. 

Connie found herself at the center of the town. A large crater, smoke still rising from it, laid waste to the small park next to city hall. The crumbling remains of the entranceway tumbled down toward the edges of the crater.

After three days the ground was still warm. She could feel the heat as she walked down to the raised center of the crater. On the ground, the splintered remnants of a gem laid. her hands dug into the warm soul as she climbed to the gem. The heat barely registering. She took her off hand, and smoothed her fingers over the gem. 

The ocean breeze seemed to echo through the holes in Beach City, the ominous whistling seemed to carry through the air like a low melody.

“She died saving me.” Connie’s voice carried with that wind.

“She lived protecting the one’s she loved.” Garnet’s voice countered.

  
  
  



	2. Sleep

  
When I was a little child,  
and dwelling in my kingdom,  
in my father's house, and was content with the wealth and the  
luxuries of my nourishers,  
from the East, our home,  
my parents equipped me (and) sent me forth;  
\- Entry Lines to Hymn of the Pearl

### Connie

“I can still feel it.”

Connie wiggled the fingers of the limb enhancer, watching them float at her command. Tiny figure-eights with greenish-yellow stones. 

“I still find it strange that you humans don’t just regenerate, it seems like a flaw in your initial design.” Peridot commented as she tuned the forearm with a screwdriver labeled ‘A’, except the label, had been crossed out with a large X in permanent marker. “But this will do until Bismuth completes something more substantial.”

The connection was broken up into three sections. Peridot had carefully grafted the stone to her shoulder at some point in the past few days. A dark brown. The elbow connection and her new forearm a lime-green that mirrored the gem in front of her. The same with the ‘fingers’. 

Connie winced. She moved what was now her hand once again. She brought each nomadic digit back together until they formed a fist-like ball above what should have been a wrist. The finger ground against the others. She could feel the grit of those new fingers. Her new wrist. Her new elbow. Her new shoulder blade.

The sensations felt pushed away from the proximity of her body. Each new ‘touch’ thousands of miles away from the synapses they were connected to. The feeling of her sword arm being torn from its place was all too close.

“We should get going. Beach City will be coming back soon and we need to finish the cleanup.” Connie struggled to keep balance. Her new arm felt heavy in purpose, but light in mass. She found herself leaning away from the greenish connections.

“Lapis and Garnet should be more than adequate to handle such a menial task, and even with my clear improvement on the design, your species, when in such a state, requires stasi-”

Peridot found herself cut off at the sound of metal against wood as Connie lifted the hilt of Rose’s sword. It’s shattered remains left indents in the table. The crags and cracks in what was once the blade left it looking like a jagged tooth. 

Connie fastened the long pink cloak around her shoulders. It was almost twice her size before tying it at her neck. The size crept closer and closer to Connie until what was left formed against her back and shoulders. The side with the artificial arm fit tighter and tighter. The singed material caught awkwardly, as it tried to grip something that was no longer there. She shifted it around to be more of a poncho than a cloak and the hood shifted with the motion, resting slack against her back. The hood remained and sat slack against her back. The mane edged the hood and the inlaid gemstones went from a straight line down her back to the edge of her poncho. The material hummed and vibrated against the new limb for a few moments before settling. That same grinding of the millstone but more acute. She felt it in her core. She secured the shattered blade in what was left of the sheath. A long crack in the rose.

“I’m fine. I’ll see you out there.” 

Connie started the journey to Beach City. She hadn’t taken in everything before. She thought of buildings that only existed in her memory now.

Giant glass structures made from the heat created splintered mirrors in the sand that she could see herself in. She drew her hood closer to her face. Digits and limbs made of stone that once adorned the cliff face sat in disorganized piles. The sand didn’t crunch under her flats as she finally made it to the pavement, or what was left of it.

She had to move around the craters. Most had already been filled but holes littered the ground like those in her memory. They had started the repairs but still had a long way to go. 

Connie walked through the empty streets and expected shards they had missed to reanimate. Attack. Wound. But everything was lifeless in this place, even with the repairs. 

Cars pulled like a sword from a stone, leaving rooftops cratered and sagging. The Big Donut nowhere to be seen, probably floating out to some unknown place in the sea. She saw a light. 

A dull hue near the caved shutters of the arcade shone. Her feet stopped mid-step and she had to catch herself to keep from falling over. Her fingers arrived at the source before she regained her balance. The reaction was pure instinct. She wasn’t sure she liked her body being as fast as her mind. But it would need to be in the days to come.

The digits lifted a dulled color-shifting shard. An orb of lime-green light containing it as her eyes processed what it was. Connie felt her breath catch in her throat as her fingers were brought back to her. Bubble floating along the way. She tapped her wrist against the top and it was willed away. Empty space where it had once been.

Connie drew the hood up again and her hair tucked itself underneath its cover. Keeping her out of the shining sun. She could feel the beating of her heart. Counting each thump. Adding it to her blood pressure. Dividing it by her remaining limbs. Subtracting who was left. 

She nearly stepped into the largest crater left in the city. Not even noticing how she got there. The park was gone. Ashes left where a playground had been near the city hall. How long had she been walking? The heat of the place brought her back to reality.

The heat remained in the place. Like her arm remained forever straining to keep hold of him long after the ship moved away. 

The heat brought her back again. She slid down the side and looked to the raised center. It was almost like an island and had the strongest heat. She could feel the warmth in her human fingers as they dug into the dirt as she brought herself up.

The ocean breeze echoed through the holes in the city. Their ominous whistling carried in the air like a low melody. Connie's voice was carried by that tone as she looked down at what was left on the platform.

“She died saving me.” Connie held back tears with those words. Remembering her promise even as her hand nearly touched the remnants of the gem.

“She lived,” one voice became two as Garnet moved to the edge of the crater. Countering the phrase with large pieces of plywood and bags of concrete under and over her arms. “Protecting everything she loved. Everyone."

Garnet dropped everything into neat piles, though the sound rattled Connie’s frame even from this distance.

“Peridot told me about the temporary fix,” Connie slid back from the center and moved her way over to Garnet as she spoke. “While I’m glad to see you awake, you should be resting after something like this.” she adjusted her sunglasses as Connie came beside her. 

“How can I rest with this, Garnet? Steven is gone. Amethyst with him. We have to get out there. We have to bring them back.” Connie looked to the crater and the pale pink shards at its center.

“And we will. But you must sleep first.”

“We have to bring her back.”

There was a hesitation in her voice. An uncertainty as Garnet responded tone as she spoke. “Some damage cannot be undone, Connie. Sometimes the price is to-”

“Is something we can.” she drew in a breath that cleared the sob from her lungs. “Something we will pay. After we make them pay.”

The sound of the ocean drew near before Garnet could say anything else. Lapis came down with the languid motion of her wings settling on the ground long enough to fill the cracks into the concrete before they retreated into her.

“I think that’s about it for the Cluster Shards. I’ve put the ocean back into place and the tides should return sooner or later.” she shrugged and then her eyes fell to Connie. “I like it. Very Pierre season seven. Well, seven-ish,”

“Connie, you need to sleep. Lapis and I can finish up here. Go back to the temple.” Garnet leaned her glasses down on her face, her third eye looking down at Connie, who returned the gaze. 

“You’re a Crystal Gem. We work together. We know each other’s strengths. Weaknesses. We trust each other enough to make decisions we may not see at the moment.” Garnet pushed her sunglasses back into place and adjusted them. “Sleep.”

Connie could feel the weight of thousands of years of struggle and commitment in the word. She didn’t argue as she weaved her way back to the temple.

“Bismuth stopped by,” Peridot said while meticulously removing and replacing each item into the fridge as Connie opened the door. 

Connie sighed and collapsed face-first into the couch. Her response was muffled into the cushions. After expelling the remaining air from her lungs, she turned her head and exposed enough of her mouth to speak.

“What did she say?”

“Head to the forge when you have some time.”

  
  
  
  



End file.
